December 21, 2011

From toad wrestling to Teenage Mutant Ninja Frogs? It might sound like a leap of logic, but it's absolutely true: today's ninja susperstars have some decidedly slimy origins.

Hiroko and I were conducting research in the Sackler Gallery archives for an upcoming project when we stumbled across a cache of 18th century frog and toad related prints.

They weren't the first we'd ever seen, but they reminded us of the love-hate relationship Japan has enjoyed with the creatures over the ages. Sure, they're warty and bumpy and hang out in slimy dark places, but there's something about those beady little eyes that demands a certain amount of affection.

The Japanese actually have a word for this type of cognitive dissonance: it's called kimo-kawaii: cute and gross, all at the same time. It's something Japanese designers have a real knack for; you can see it in so many mascots and characters today that it can be easy to mistake for a recent trend. It isn't.

Long before Japanese had a word for it, frogs and toads were the ORIGINAL "kimo-kawaii."

In spite of being totally common sorts of animals (you can even find them in the midst of the Tokyo metropolis today, if you know where to look), they're often portrayed in decidedly uncommon circumstances: marching alongside yokai, acting as familiars to ninja sorcerers, even cutting loose and staging impromptu wrestling matches when pesky humans aren't lurking about.

Ohara Koson

Now here's where things get interesting.

The following prints show Tenjiku Tokubei (1612- 1692), a real-life adventurer who traveled extensively in Southeast Asia at a time when very few Japanese were allowed to leave their country.

His name translates into "Tokubei of India" -- I guess you could call him a sort of Japanese "Lawrence of Arabia."

After his death, his legend continued to grow. In 1804, Tokubei became the subject of a kabuki play called Tenjiku Tokubei Kokubanashi. It portrayed the adventurer as a wizard-like master of magic gleaned from the Asian continent.

His secret superpower involved casting spells on the large stones used to make pickled vegetables, transforming them into... giant toads. Which would then attack his enemies. (Yeah, toads. C'mon. When you think about it, is this really that much stranger than the powers the X-Men and other modern superheroes are supposed to possess?)

In an amusing twist, the kabuki play's producer promoted his show by fueling rumors that the actors used "Christian magic" to effect their super-quick dress changes during the show. Perhaps one could say frogliness is next to Godliness?

Toyohara Kunichika, 1883.

Utagawa Toyokuni, 1809.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

As the sheer number of pieces of art produced for it attest, the play was a huge hit -- the contemporary equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster.

They influenced a writer by the name of Kanwatei Onitake, who borrowed (some might say "swiped") Tokubei's signature attack and fused it with tales of a legendary Chinese burglar to create Jiraiya, who is widely considered to be the very first ninja character in Japanese pop culture.

Jiraiya (who not coincidentally gets a big profile in Ninja Attack!) first appeared in an 1806 illustrated book that could be called the ancestor of the graphic novel. He's a thief with a heart of gold and the ability to conjure up giant phantom frogs. Where Tokubei's powers were said to come from foreign lands, Jiraiya's were good old-fashioned Japanese ninjutsu.

The tweak to the story seems to have hit home, because Jiraiya is far more well known than his predecessor today. In fact, he's a positive superstar among a certain set. He lives on as one of the main characters in the Naruto anime series.

Kanwatei Onitake's Jiraiya

Update 02/2012! You can see the 1921 silent film "Jiraiya," considered the ancestor of both ninja cinema and tokusatsu (special-effects) films in Japan, here on YouTube! The frog-versus-samurai battle at 12 minutes in is a must-see.

January 15, 2011

Ninja Attack is a candidate for a Readers Choice Award in the Art and Illustrated Books category over at About.com Manga! If you enjoyed the book -- hell, even if you didn't -- please feel free to drop by and cast your vote. Thanks for all the support!

November 18, 2010

The good news: San Francisco's New People Center (the same fine folks who brought you the Yokai 101 lecture last year) are sponsoring a Ninja Attack night on this Saturday, the 20th. Hosted by Patrick Macias, you'll thrill to clips and commentary about fictional ninja from classics like Shinobi no Mono, Red Mask, Shogun Assassin, Dagger of Kamui, and Alien vs. Ninja.

The bad news: I won't be attending, though I'll be there in "ninja spirit." Turn on, tune in, and sign up for tickets either on the Viz website or at the door! And it goes without saying that copies of Ninja Attack will be on sale, too.

September 25, 2010

August 23, 2010

Here's an article I wrote about eating fugu for CNNgo. I've also sorta taken over the Snack Nation column there, so tune in for some refreshment.

Remember our pet kabuto-mushi? He's now safe and sound on a tree near the peak of Mt. Takao, where we released him last weekend.

We just found out this morning that Yokai Attack is going into a sixth printing, thanks to all of your support. The sequel, Ninja Attack, is due out in America next month -- we'll be throwing some shuriken of info your way when we get closer to the release date.

And: despite being written entirely in English, Ninja Attack has been getting some great press in Japan, where people remain astounded at the overseas popularity of this otherwise rather obscure aspect of their culture. RocketNews24 interviewed us the other day, and if you understand Japanese you can tune in to a segment I recorded with Tomohiro Machiyama for the TBS radio show Kira Kira. ("Many Americans think ninja can disappear and blow fire from their mouths," gravely explained Machiyama by way of introduction.)

July 23, 2010

Hiroko and I make the cover of Metropolis again! This time, they've graciously run several excerpts from Ninja Attack, which is out in Japan right now. It won't hit bookstores abroad until the end of the summer, so this is your chance for an early sneak peek at the "datafiles" for ninja sniper Sugitani Zenjubo and the femme fatale Mochizuki Chiyojo!

July 09, 2010

"I wish I'd had this beautiful book back in 1983 when Kevin Eastman and I created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -- it would have helped a lot! At the very least, the 'ninja stuff' in our comic would have been quite a bit more authentic."

Peter Laird, co-creator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"The illustrations are brilliant! I wish there was a Japanese edition."

Takashi Okazaki, creator, Afro Samurai

"A very enjoyable and well-researched book that demystifies the ninja of legend!"

Stan Sakai, creator, Usagi Yojimbo

"Subterfuge! Assassinations! Secret weapons! Super-powers! Authors Yoda and Alt dig deep into Japanese history, folklore, and pop culture to bring back a saga overflowing with insight and action."

June 22, 2010

Big news, people: Hiroko and I have been working with Kodansha International on a top-secret sequel to Yokai Attack! This time we took a detour from fantasy into history, and the result is "Ninja Attack! True Tales of Assassins, Samurai, and Outlaws." It is on sale now at bookstores all over the world! Ninja Attack chronicles the totally real-life adventures of the bad-asses who made ninja a household name -- and how they changed pop culture around the world.

The idea behind Ninja Attack started from a simple question: Japan didn't invent the concept of assassins or espionage. So why are ninja the poster children for clandestine behavior around the world today? We uncovered a wealth of stories and vintage art that helps explain why. It's a collection of true tales of the men and women "behind the mask."

Featuring all-new illustrations by the talented manga artist Yutaka Kondo, who was a consultant on the Ninja Scroll anime series, it covers more than a thousand years of Japanese history. Although it's anchored firmly in fact, fans of ninja in fiction will find it a tantalizing guide to the true stories behind some of their favorite characters, from Hattori Hanzo to Ishikawa Goemon to Yagyu Jubei and more.

It also delves deep into the history of ninja in pop culture, such as Jiraiya, Sarutobi Sasuke, and Kirigakure Saizo -- all of whom live on today in modern fare such as "Naruto." And a book-within-a-book explores their tools, weapons, tactics, places they lived, and more. It is a one-stop guide to ninja legend and lore.

Order it at Amazon.co.jp, Amazon USA, or your favorite bookstore today! It's everything you wanted to know about ninja... but were afraid you'd get a shuriken in the eye if you asked!